In October of 1994, shortly after the death of Kurt Cobain, Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl re-entered Robert Lang's Seattle studio, where Nirvana had conducted their final recording sessions. Intending to create demos of his own material, over the course of a week Grohl would commit his ideas to tape. Except for some guitar assistance from Greg Dulli (of Afghan Wigs) on one track, Grohl would literally become a one-man band during these sessions, writing all the songs, playing all the instruments and singing all the vocals himself.

Both a cathartic release and a compendium of backlogged material that Grohl had written, but was unable to explore while in Nirvana, these demos revealed a talent far greater than anyone expected. Feedback from friends and music industry peers was so overwhelmingly positive that Grohl was persuaded to release an album. However, wishing to distance himself from the media saturation still swirling around Nirvana, Grohl proceeded to make it the debut album of a non-existent band - Foo Fighters. Released on the 4th of July in 1995, this raw, unpolished debut would begin the development of a band destined to become another leading light in the history of rock music.

Presented here is a glimpse into the earliest stages of that development, when Grohl recruited Sunny Day Real Estate rhythm section William Goldsmith and Nate Mendel, along with his Nirvana touring bandmate Pat Smear, to road test the material.

This performance focuses almost exclusively on the debut album material, with the notable exception of the Tubeway Army cover, "Down In The Park," opening the set. Foo Fighters would later contribute a recording of this Gary Numan song to the soundtrack album for the popular X-Files television series. Otherwise, a great deal of the album is previewed here, from raging bursts like "Watershed" and "Alone + Easy Target," to more reflective fare like "Floaty" and the set-closing jam of "Exhausted." The album would also spawn a number of singles, including "This Is A Call," "I'll Stick Around," "For All The Cows" and "Big Me" (which inspired the memorable parody video of the Mentos commercial), all of which are included in this set. Recorded at Tramps in New York City, these musicians served as both an opening act and as backing band for Mike Watt (on his tour promoting Ball-Hog or Tugboat?). Experience the initial Foo Fighters lineup live on stage, two months prior to their first album release.

In October of 1994, shortly after the death of Kurt Cobain, Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl re-entered Robert Lang's Seattle studio, where Nirvana had conducted their final recording sessions. Intending to create demos of his own material, over the course of a week Grohl would commit his ideas to tape. Except for some guitar assistance from Greg Dulli (of Afghan Wigs) on one track, Grohl would literally become a one-man band during these sessions, writing all the songs, playing all the instruments and singing all the vocals himself.

Both a cathartic release and a compendium of backlogged material that Grohl had written, but was unable to explore while in Nirvana, these demos revealed a talent far greater than anyone expected. Feedback from friends and music industry peers was so overwhelmingly positive that Grohl was persuaded to release an album. However, wishing to distance himself from the media saturation still swirling around Nirvana, Grohl proceeded to make it the debut album of a non-existent band - Foo Fighters. Released on the 4th of July in 1995, this raw, unpolished debut would begin the development of a band destined to become another leading light in the history of rock music.

Presented here is a glimpse into the earliest stages of that development, when Grohl recruited Sunny Day Real Estate rhythm section William Goldsmith and Nate Mendel, along with his Nirvana touring bandmate Pat Smear, to road test the material.

This performance focuses almost exclusively on the debut album material, with the notable exception of the Tubeway Army cover, "Down In The Park," opening the set. Foo Fighters would later contribute a recording of this Gary Numan song to the soundtrack album for the popular X-Files television series. Otherwise, a great deal of the album is previewed here, from raging bursts like "Watershed" and "Alone + Easy Target," to more reflective fare like "Floaty" and the set-closing jam of "Exhausted." The album would also spawn a number of singles, including "This Is A Call," "I'll Stick Around," "For All The Cows" and "Big Me" (which inspired the memorable parody video of the Mentos commercial), all of which are included in this set. Recorded at Tramps in New York City, these musicians served as both an opening act and as backing band for Mike Watt (on his tour promoting Ball-Hog or Tugboat?). Experience the initial Foo Fighters lineup live on stage, two months prior to their first album release.